MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette ($39.50 for 0.14 oz.) contains five eyeshadows: Taupeless (lavender pink), Satin Taupe (taupe with silver shimmer), Love Spice (mid-tone rosy pink with pearl), Spellcaster (matte aubergine), and Black Slip (rich blackened plum with pearl).
For reference, MAC eyeshadow quads ($38.00) typically contain 0.19 to 0.20 oz. (about 0.05 oz. per eyeshadow). Last year’s holiday eyeshadow palettes contained 0.21 oz. (and retailed for $38.00). The prior year’s holiday palettes contained 0.19 oz. (and retailed for $36.00). You used to get six shades, but with this year’s design, you’re getting five.
Taupeless is a light pink with silvery-white sparkle. It has a lustre finish, so it is a bit sheerer and has lots of sparkle. I did experience a fair amount of fall out with this shade. This shade has been released before. Chanel Harmonie du Soir is a bit warmer, less sparkly. MAC Love Power is similar but less sparkly. MAC Young Venus is cooler-toned. theBalm Safe Bet Annette is slightly warmer.
Satin Taupe is a medium brown with subtle warm orange undertones and a gray-ish tinge. It doesn’t look like the permanent Satin Taupe at all. It had decent color payoff but it was a little dry. Guerlain Turandot is darker. Dior Fairy Golds is also darker.
Love Spice is a rosy-toned medium brown with a champagne shimmer-sheen. The color payoff was so-so, and the texture was a little dry. Giorgio Armani Champagne is similar but browner. Cle de Peau #207 is similar but grayer and sparkly. MAC Pink Frontier is a touch lighter. MAC Jete is darker. MAC desert is a bit grayer. MAC Earthly is grayer. Here’s a swatch of the permanent Satin Taupe.
Spellcaster is a matte, dark purple with subtle red undertones. It was dry, stiff, and was a pain-in-the-behind to blend. It’s an eyeshadow that you have to grab a lot of, place it, go back for more, place it, and then try to blend those together. Normally, I’d take some product, apply it to the middle of the area I wanted it to be, then I’d take the brush back and forth to blend it out. It just doesn’t work with the texture of this shade. NARS High Society is lighter. MAC Dynamic Duo #4 has a similar shade that was better pigmented. Urban Decay Rockstar is a little lighter and shimmery.
Black Slip is a red-toned brown with hints of burgundy and bronze shimmer. It had good pigmentation, and it was the best performer out of the five. The texture was a lot softer and more blendable. Urban Decay Rapture is lighter. Illamasqua Queen of the Night is not as frosted. MAC Winterized is grayer, less red-toned.
Taupeless had some significant fall out while I wore it, which wasn’t a total surprise, because it had a sparkly, kind of gritty/chunky texture that is common to lustres (which I rarely have good experiences with). Satin Taupe is unrecognizable in this palette–I’m left wondering if this is even meant to be one and the same as the permanent version. If not, they really should have named it something else. Black Slip was the best eyeshadow, but I would say that it is a good but not great eyeshadow. Spellcaster works really well with the rest of the colors in the palette, but it is difficult to blend and was noticeably faded after eight hours of wear, even over a primer. I couldn’t get all of these shades to show up without a primer underneath; Black Slip and Spellcaster were the only ones that showed up decently without a primer.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Marilyn Monroe Eyeshadows ($21.00 for 0.10 oz.) include these four shades How to Marry (soft white), Preferred Blonde (pale champagne beige), Showgirl (dark blue grey), and Silver Screen (true silver). All four are supposed to have a veluxe pearl finish, and they are double the size of a regular MAC eyeshadow.
Silver Screen is a sheer silver-white with a frosted finish. If it was more opaque, you could get more of a metallic sheen out of it. Buxom Sheepdog is very close but cream. Tarina Tarantino Lovely has a very similar shade. MAC Filament is similar but it also has some quality issues. MAC Misty is similar but more metallic.
Three of the four really look very similar, and even on, it was hard to tell where one shade ended and the other began. The dusty, powdery quality of the texture of these made it difficult to apply and made them prone to fading and fall out post-application. I tried applying them over bare lids, over primer (NARS Smudgeproof), and used damp. I really couldn’t get half-decent payoff without using a primer and using them wet and packing the color on. “Highly pigmented powder” they are not. Here’s my thinking: if you dig the colors, consider creating a quad using these four permanent MAC eyeshadows: Crystal Avalanche, Dazzlelight, Contrast, and Electra.
On a different note, I think the composition of these four was disappointing. I would have loved to have seen a matte shade or two, which would have fit with the theme, and it would have made for more versatile and dynamic looks. I didn’t feel like these shades went well with the lipsticks (the bluish-gray was definitely throwing everything off), and it was frost overload.
Keep in mind, online retailers like Nordstrom, Macy’s, Dillard’s, and Bloomingdale’s will also launch the collection online. These retailers typically launch close in time to the in-store release date (October 4th).
Here's my thinking: if you dig the colors, consider creating a quad using these four permanent MAC eyeshadows: Crystal Avalanche, Dazzlelight, Contrast, and Electra.
Product
6/10
Pigmentation
6.5/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
6.5/10
Application
3/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
MAC Cosmetics; September 27th online at maccosmetics.com and October 4th for in-store. $21.00
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MAC Desert Camouflage Face Kit ($44.00 for 0.40 oz.) includes four eyeshadows: Sahara Dust (light neutral beige), Cactus Thorn (mid-tone brown bronze), Desert (shimmering warm taupe), and Carbon (intense black) as well as one Cremeblend Blush, Sand Storm (soft sheer warm caramel).
Sahara Dust is a pale beige with a soft, frosted finish. It has a satin finish, officially. The color payoff is decent, and it works well as a highlighter on the brow bone or inner tear duct. Illamasqua Slink is similar, slightly frostier. MAC Brule is more matte. Giorgio Armani Madreperla has a frostier finish. MAC Baby, It’s Cold is a smidgen yellower. MAC Vanilla is a touch lighter.
Cactus Thorn is a softened bronze-shimmered medium-dark brown. It has a frost finish. The pigmentation is good, though the texture was a bit dry. Dior Golden Savannaha is darker, browner. Giorgio Armani #26 is more shimmery. Urban Decay Chase is warmer and more metallic. theBalm Schitzo is very similar, but more pigmented and slightly more golden-toned. Wet ‘n’ Wild Comfort Zone is richer.
Desert is a gray-tinged brown with a hint of plum. It has a satin finish. It has decent color payoff but had a dry, stiffer texture. Bobbi Brown Slate is softer, more matte. MAC Aurora is lighter, more frosted. Dolce &G abbana Jewels is grayer. Inglot #360 is similar but matte.
Carbon is a matte black, but if you look in the pan, there are a lot of sparkles–just none of them seem to translate. It was the oddest thing. I feel like every time I swatch Carbon, it gets worse. And I’m not swatching the same one! This shade is part of the permanent range, and it’s actually included in both of the face kits in the collection, and they were about equal in their dry, stiff, poor color payoff-yielding textures. Slightly more pigmented when I used it on the eye (with a 222 brush), but boy, it did not want to move or budge, which made blending a pain in the butt! Because I happened to also have a really rich black that I was swatching (completely unplanned!) that was insanely pigmented, I took a comparison photo, just so you can see why Carbon is such a disappointment.
Cremeblend Blushes are supposed to be creamy, easy to blend, have medium coverage, and have a natural finish. Sand Storm is a warm, orange-tan with a soft, barely dewy finish (it read mostly matte when it dried down and set). There’s a yellowy-orange undertone that comes through. MAC Lush-Light is darker, browner. MAC Refined Golden is browner. MAC Tan Tint is a smidgen darker. It can be used sheerly with ease, and it can be built up a bit, though I’m not sure it will show up well on darker complexions–it just barely shows on mine (I’m about NC30 at the moment). It may add warmth without adding noticeable color. Yesterday, when I was testing the wear, my cheeks were slightly dry, and this wasn’t forgiving, unfortunately. I was hoping that the creamy consistency would help and was happy that I was testing a cream blush instead of a powder one, LOL! After six hours, it had separated and faded noticeably.
This palette contains 0.22 oz. of eyeshadows (0.055 oz. each, which is 0.005 oz. more than a regular full-sized MAC eyeshadow), which is a $66 value. There is 0.18 oz. of Cremeblend Blush in here, which normally retails for $20.00/0.19 oz., so there is $18.95 value from that, for a total palette value of $84.95. (Note: Cremeblend blushes and eyeshadows are sold in pan form, depending on the shade, but I went with individual product prices, not pan prices. From a pan perspective, there is $52.80 in eyeshadow value and $16.11 in Cremeblend Blush value, for a total value of $68.91.) From a quantity point of view, this is absolutely a deal, which is great news!
It’s a decent palette, but the inclusion of Carbon is really bringing down the overall quality of it on the whole. The other three eyeshadows have decent color payoff, with Sahara Dust being the easiest to work with. Sand Storm didn’t have fantastic wear, but it was blendable and looked good initially. These eyeshadows were less stellar without a primer–they were less blendable and faded after six hours. Over a primer, I saw some minor fading of Desert and Carbon.
It’s hard to recommend or feel good about a palette when one shade is such a dud and four shades are decent but not really phenomenal. I keep hoping for a stellar launch from MAC, but they aren’t making it easy at all.
I’ll have my review for the Jungle Camouflage palette up soon, but as a quick note: the two palettes are very, very similar with the major difference between in finish–this palette is more shimmery, while Jungle Camouflage is more matte.
It's a decent palette, but the inclusion of Carbon is really bringing down the overall quality of it on the whole. The other three eyeshadows have decent color payoff, with Sahara Dust being the easiest to work with. Sand Storm didn't have fantastic wear, but it was blendable and looked good initially. It's hard to recommend or feel good about a palette when one shade is such a dud and four shades are decent but not really phenomenal.
Product
8/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
8/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Illustrated – Smoky Eye Plum Kit ($49.50) includes three eyeshadows, two travel-sized brushes, Technakohl Eyeliner, and a travel-sized Zoom Lash mascara. It’s a Nordstrom exclusive set and available both in-stores and online. There is another palette available, but it contains all permanent shades, so I only purchased this one for review.
Creative Whim is a pale lilac with subtle cool undertones and a soft white frost. It has a satin finish. The color payoff was just so-so–there was obvious sheerness. MAC Dynamic Duo 2 is similar but more metallic in finish, slightly less pink. Tarina Tarantino Diamond Dusk is paler, cooler-toned. MAC Silverwear is lighter.
Drawn to Drama is a darkened violet purple with a blue shimmer-sheen. The texture was on the dry side, which you can even see in the swatch, which resulted in decent pigmentation but nothing to get excited over. Urban Decay Ransom is lighter. MAC Pink Union is brighter, more red-toned. MAC Parfait Amour is lighter. Urban Decay Frigid is nearly the same. Estee Lauder Untamed Violet is more subdued.
Moody is a brown-tinged medium-dark gray with a satiny sheen. It is a veluxe pearl, and it is also a repromote. The texture of this is not at all like your typical veluxe pearl, because it lacks the buttery, dense feel. The color payoff is lacking, and it’s not usually the case with veluxe pearls that pigmentation is a problem. Instead, Moody feels dry and applies that way, making it difficult to blend out. Shocker of shocks! — it’s from an old nemesis, Evil Eye, where I actually made the same observations then as I did today. MAC Hint of Sapphire and Inglot #434 are most similar to this.
Purple Dash is a red-toned plum with subtle shimmer-sheen. This shade is part of the permanent range. Make Up For Ever #4L is just like this shade. Technakohls tend to wear between six and eight hours on me.
All three eyeshadows are full-sized ($45.00 value), and the eyeliner is also full-sized ($14.50 value). The travel-sized mascara is half the size of a full-sized one ($7.50 value), and it’s hard to put a value on the travel-sized brushes. The brushes were scratchy when I tried using them, and I’m not a huge fan of the 212 as a good multi-purpose/general brush. It’s more of a specific action brush, so I don’t think it makes sense to include it in a set like this (you’d probably one brush to apply eyeshadow and another to blend it out). Though Nordstrom lists the value at $100, I’d put the value around $67 realistically.
While I personally like the collection’s illustrations, this palette is unwieldy. It’s just unnecessarily large, and it really does so in order to hold the brushes, eyeliner, and mascara. This might be something that would have worked better if they had made it a double-decker palette and hidden the brushes and eyeliner underneath the eyeshadow and mascara. Too bulky to be a great travel palette!
I tried wearing the three shades together, and the nice thing about them is they coordinate well with each other. The downside is that none of them are good eyeshadows; they’re all disappointing in some way or another. All three shades suffer from lack of pigmentation, and Drawn to Drama and Moody are very dry and are difficult to blend during application. Without a primer, they wore seven hours before looking a bit faded. With a primer, they lasted a full eight hours without creasing or fading.
I don't know if I've ever given so many D+ grades in a week, but here's another one for you! I imagine most will be interested in the palette for the eyeshadows over the travel-sized brushes, mascara, and eyeliner, so go out and buy three good MAC eyeshadows individually and save $4.50. It's not a value if the products included are sub-par.
Product
6.5/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
6.5/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
3/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
MAC Hey, Sailor Eyeshadows ($16.00 for 0.05 oz.) includes five shades: Barefoot (tarnished gold), Crystal Avalanche (white with reflects), Feeling Fresh (bright green), Jaunty (light yellow beige), and Nautical Navy (blue).
Barefoot is a dirty warm gold with hints of bronze. This has a veluxe pearl finish. The texture was soft but it wasn’t fully opaque–there’s some sheerness in it. The color has a lot of warmth and some orange in it, so it doesn’t look like your traditional yellow gold. It’s not quite subdued enough or brown enough to be the average antique/tarnished gold. OCC Acacia is lighter. Bare Escentuals Remix is a bit lighter and yellower. MAC Goldmine is yellower and lighter. Inglot #404 is darker and more bronze. Milani Drenched in Gold is a little lighter, less orange.
Crystal Avalanche is a highly frosted bright white. This is part of the permanent range, and it has a veluxe pearl finish. It had the best color payoff of the five shades in the launch. It can be an interesting shade to use, because of both its brightness and the frostiness of its finish, so using a light touch with it may be best. Maybelline Too Cool is a bit cooler-toned. theBalm Sassy is a bit more frosted. Bare Escentuals Cheers is very close. Inglot #453 is more metallic.
Feeling Fresh is a grassy green with yellow undertones and a silver sparkle. It felt more like a velvet finish to me, but it is a frost. The color payoff is pretty disappointing when swatched, and it has a dry texture that skips and doesn’t bind together well. I wasn’t able to get it to apply well over bare lids, but over a primer and packed on with the 213, I was able to achieve true-to-pan vibrancy. It’s much yellower compared to MAC Jealousy Wakes. OCC Foxfire is lighter, yellower. MAC Fresh Flare is a bit darker. MAC Wondergrass is much yellower and brighter. Inglot #384 is darker, yellower.
Jaunty is a warm, light-medium beige with a slightly metallic sheen. This has a frost finish. The color payoff is so-so, but I imagine most people who gravitate towards this shade will like some of that underlying transparency. Buxom Collie is a bit darker. NARS Ramatuelle is lighter.
Nautical Navy is a dark navy blue with soft blue and silver shimmer. This has a satin finish. The texture is very, very dry, stiff, and chalky. It skips on the skin, and it still continued to behave poorly when I applied it to the lid both over a primer and over bare lids. MAC Naval Blue is similar but more intense, a little brighter/bluer. MAC Lunar is very comparable. MAC Shop & Drop is also very similar. There’s really no shortage of navy blues on the market, all with varying degrees of quality, but the majority are better than this one.
I think people will like these shades, but I don’t think they’re the best in regards to quality. Barefoot, Crystal Avalanche, and Jaunty are the best out of the five, while Nautical Navy is by far the worst. Feeling Fresh isn’t superb, but if you use it over a primer, it’s much, much better, which I suspect is how many readers use their eyeshadows, so it’s not lots and lots of extra effort. Nautical Navy is extremely dry and stiff, which makes blending difficult and getting intense color nearly impossible.
With an eyeshadow primer, I had no wear problems with these eyeshadows, and I’ve worn all five (three on one day, five the next). There was no creasing or fading after eight hours of wear over a primer. MAC does indicate these are long-wearing, so I also tested them without a primer, and there’s very slight creasing after eight hours and some fading.
Jaunty is actually my favorite out of the collection--it's soft, neutral, and very wearable on all skin tones. Feeling Fresh is workable/buildable, even though it's not stellar in all ways. Barefoot would be my next pick, but it could be a little more pigmented. Crystal Avalanche is permanent, so you can purchase it for a $1 less in regular packaging.
Product
8/10
Pigmentation
8/10
Texture
8/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC By Request – Eyeshadows Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC By Request is a collection that’s voted on by the fans–there are 18 shades of lipstick, lipglass, and eyeshadow that MAC has listed for grabs, and your votes will determine the top three from each product type that will go on to be launched in an online exclusive, limited edition collection in August. Voting is open and closes on March 30th and users can vote once per product category per day. Not sure where to cast your vote? These are the six that are up for voting, and these just arrived from MAC – all the labels just say “sample” on the back, so I don’t know if these were a recent production or if these were from original runs. I’m thinking they’re probably from short runs – perhaps just to ensure the colors could still be made or have the recipes ready to go into production as soon as voting is over.
Cool Heat is a blue with a hint of teal. This has a frost finish. The color payoff is good, and the texture is soft and smooth–it has more of a satin-like finish than a true frost one. Urban Decay Haight is a bit bluer. Inglot #338 is ver similar but matte.
Guacamole is a light-medium almost cool-toned green with golden shimmer (so it ends up looking warmer). This has a frost finish. Out of all of these green eyeshadows, only Make Up For Ever #34 comes close, and it’s a bit yellower. It had good pigmentation and a soft texture.
Heavenly Bliss is a medium brown with a champagne-gold sheen. This has a frost finish. It has a very smooth, soft feel and goes on like butter. Bare Escentuals Buxom Mutt is similar, just a little less warm. Urban Decay Suspect is grayer. Urban Decay Spotlight is lighter.
Jete is a pinky brown with a frosted, metallic shimmer-sheen. This has a veluxe pearl finish. The texture was soft and smooth, while the color payoff was nice. Make Up For Ever #16 is a bit redder. Giorgio Armani Sweet Fire is a bit pinker.
Moth Brown is a purple-tinted gray with a shimmery finish. This has a frost finish. Again, the texture on this one was soft, smooth, and the color applied beautifully. MAC Howzat is lighter and less intense. MAC Moody is a bit darker, less shimmered.
Solar White is a pink-tinted white with a yellow gold shimmer and sheen. This has a frost finish. It looks surprisingly pink in the pot, but it doesn’t translate when swatched very well (which may be a good or bad thing, depending on what you want). Shades like Tarina Tarantino Delightful come close, but they’re more integrated, while this really has a sheen to it. Make Up For Ever #101 comes the closest, and it’s pretty close.
The texture on all six was really, really good, actually. I was pleasantly surprised, because lately, MAC’s eyeshadows have been more hit-or-miss. These were nice–soft/smooth textures, good color payoff. I managed to cram five of the six into one look, and they wore beautifully all day long (with a primer), and there was only marginal fading after eight hours without a base.
Just for fun, here are some shades I think would have been nice to bring back: All Races (All Ages, All Races, All Sexes ’10), Atlas (Shades of Venus ’98), Bang on Blue (C-Shock ’07), Casa Blanca (Salsabelle ’04), Cinders (Luxuries ’05), Cosmic (Moonbathe ’07), Elite (Belle Azure ’05), Eyepopping (C-Shock ’07), Fab & Flashy (C-Shock ’07), Femme-fi (Neo Sci-Fi ’08), Firespot (Moonbathe ’07), Goldbit (Tantress ’04), Icebox (Merry MAC-Mas ’00), Meadowland (Madame B. ’05), Metamorph (Madame B. ’05), Queen’s Jewel (Antiquitease ’07), Say Yeah (Rebel Rock ’05), Tease ‘n’ Teal (Luxuries ’05), Whistle (Barbie Loves MAC ’07), and Wondergrass (C-Shock ’07).
If I’m remembering correctly, I only own half of these in their original forms, but I will do what comparisons I can! I absolutely know without a doubt that I don’t have Heavenly Bliss, though! I didn’t even recognize the name when MAC announced the collection. I didn’t get into MAC until 2005!
It's actually a bummer that these aren't all making it into production for fall, because the quality of these eyeshadows is so much better than some of the past year's launches! The color payoffs and textures were good across the board.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
August 2012, depending on what gets the most votes!
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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